Self-opening bucket



C. NOLAN.

SELF OPENING BUCKET.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13. 1920.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

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SELF OPENING BUCKET.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13, 1920.

1,41 1,453, Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

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CLYDE NOLAN, 0F ELKHART, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO B. F, WINTER- HOFF, 0F ELKHART, INDIANA, AND ONE-HALF T0 AMERICAN CORPORATION, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

STEAK CONVEYOR IA. COR?OBAATION 0F NEW YORK.

SELF-OPENING- BUCKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 13, 1920. Serial No. 35$,33d.

My invention relates to self-opening bucket capable of being employed in trolley carrier systems and the object of my invention is to provide buckets of this class which, when lowered to the ground, bottom of a bin, or upon a pile where the contents thereof are to be dumped, will so adjust themselves that when they are subsequently raised the doors thereof will fall open and permit the material contained therein to be discharged therefrom, the doors being arranged to assume their normal closed positions after the contents thereof have been discharged.

The combination and construction of parts whereby it attain the objects of my invention Will bebest understood by reading the description to follow in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bucket constructed in accordance with my invention, the bucket beingillustrated as raised into close proximity with a trolley associated therewith.

Figures 2 and 3 are respectively end and side elevations of another bucket of my invention;

Figure 4c is an isolated vertical sectional detail of the coupler mechanism used in con nection with the bucket illustrated in Figures 2 and 3;

Figure 5 is an isolated end elevation of the same; and

Figure 6 is an isolated elevational detail of a modified form of coupler.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring first to Figure 1, reference char acter A designates a bucket provided with a bail 1. A supporting frame B is provided with a bail 2, terminating in the downwardly projecting legs 3 and l, which pass through and are guided by the guide straps 5-5 secured on the. opposite sides of the bucket. Slots 6 are formed in the legs 3 and 4t and receive studs or pins 7 secured in the sides of the bucket. The frame B is, therefore, capable of a limited amount of vertical Patented Apr. 4, 1922.-

movement with respect to and independently of the bucket A. Bottom doors 8 and 9 are pivotally secured to the bucket by hinges 19 and 11, respectively, and are connected by chains or other flexible links 12 and 13 at 14 and 15 respectively, with equalizing bars 16 secured on the legs 3 and 4 of the bail 2.

The bucket is capable of being used in connection with a trolley carrier system of the type illustrated in Figure 1. In Figure 1" numeral. 17 designates a suitable track on which is mounted a trolley 17. Track 17 may be fixed or may be the outer end of a derrick arm. The trolley 17 carries a bracket 18 in which is mounted a pulley 19, arranged to receive an operating cable 20 for raising and lowering the bucket. A cou pler hook 21 is pivotally mounted in a suitable bracket on the bail =2 and has a downwardly projecting arm 22 provided with a nose 23, projecting inwardly therefrom for engaging beneath the bail 1 of the bucket A. The coupler hook 21 also comprises a trip lever 24 which, when the bucket is raised by the cable, is arranged to engage a trip finger 25 carried on the trolley 17*. A stud 26 car- .ried on the upper face of bail 1 is arranged thereby being s'ui'licient to cause the same to move downwardly independently of the bucket. l/V hen the frame moves downwardly upon the bucket, as just explained, the coupler 21 passes the bail 1 and the nose 23 is caused to engage beneath the bail, so that when the cable 20 is subsequently taken in and the bucket raised the doors 8 and 9 will swing downwardly by virtue of the slack in links 12 and 13, and permit the contents of the bucket to be discharged. When the bucket is raised up -to the position shown in Figure 1, lever 24 engages the trip finger 25 and the nose 23 is caused to disengage from the bail 1, whereupon the bucket will,

'due to its weight, move downwardly upon the doors 8 and 9, so that the bucket is supported through links 12 and 13, equalizing ars 16 and the supporting frame B.

The bucket illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 is generally similar to that illustrated in Figure 1, and for convenience the same reference numerals have been applied thereto. This bucket, however, embodies a modified coupler mechanism which is illustrated in detail in Figures 4 and 5. This form of coupler comprises the arms 27 and 28 which are curved outwardly at their upper ends to provide ears 29 and 30, which are recessed at 31 and 32 to engage the bail 2 of the bucket supporting frame B. The arms 27 and 28 are pivotally mounted in brackets 33, as at 34 and 35, and are held in distended relation at their lower ends by a compression spring 36 which is held in position by studs 37 and 38 provided on the arms 27 and 28, respectively. The bracket 33 is bolted or otherwise secured to the lower.

side of the bail 1. Tripping fingers 39 and 40 are carried upon a frame 41 on the trolley and are disposed in the path of and adapted to have slidable engagement with faces 42 and 43 of the ears 29 and 30 to force them apart and release them from engagement withlpail 2 of the supporting frame or carrier The coupler illustrated in Figure 6 is self-operable by gravity. In this form of coupler arms 45 and 46 carry ears 47 and 48, which are curved on their inner faces, as at 49 and 50, and which are recessed at 51 and 52 respectively, to engage the bucket carrier B. The arms 45 and 46 are pivotally each other by gravity rather than by the spring means illustrated in Figure 4.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1.' In combination, a bucket having a hingedly mounted bottom door, a hoisting cable, a bucket carrier attached to said cable and mounted upon said bucket for vertical sliding movement thereon, flexible means connectin said carrier with said door, automatic loc ing means adapted to lock said carrier to the bucket when the carrier has moved downwardly relatively to the bucket to a point where .said flexible means is slacked sufficiently to permit the door to open when thebucket is subsequentl raised, a member above the bucket to w ich the bucket is raised and away from which the thereon, flexible means connecting said carrier with said door, automatic locking means adapted to lock the carrier to the bucket-' when the carrier is moved downwardly relatively to the bucket to a point where the flexible means is slacked suflicientl to permit the door to open when the l iucket is subsequently raised, and a tri device on said trolley, said trip device being adapted to engage the automatic locking means and unlock the bucket from the carrier when the bucket and carrier are raised to a definite 'height in locked relation.

3. In combination, a bucket having a hingedly mounted'bottom door, a hoisting cable, a bucket carrier attached to said hoisting cable and mounted upon said bucket for vertical sliding movement thereon, a latch on said carrier, means on the bucket adapted to be engaged by the latch when the carrier is moved downwardly on the bucket to a definite position relatively thereto, flexible means interposed between the carrier and the bucket door, said flexible means arranged to be slack when the latch is in engagement with its co-operating bucket carried means aforesaid, a member above the bucket toward which the bucket is raised and from which the bucket is lowered by said cable, and a trip device on said member adapted to disengage the latch from its co-operating bucket-carried means when the carrier and bucket arefelevated sufliciently to permit-engagement of the latch and trip device...

4. In combination with a bucket having.

a hingedly mounted bottom door, a hoisting the bucket is lowered'by said cable, and means on said member adapted to engage the locking means and unlock the carrier 10 from the bucket when the bucket and carrier have been elevated to a predetermined point.

CLYDE NOLAN. 

